22 questions on percentage change, reverse percentages, simple and compound interest, and depreciation.
💷 Percentages and compound interest
Percentages appear on all three papers and in more contexts than any other single topic — prices, wages, interest, VAT, population, depreciation. This sheet covers the whole of it in order. It begins with percentage of an amount and percentage change, including finding the percentage rather than applying it; moves to multipliers, which make everything after this easier; then to reverse percentages, where you are given the value after the change and asked for the original, and where subtracting instead of dividing is the commonest error in the topic; then to simple interest, compound interest and depreciation, where the multiplier is raised to a power rather than multiplied by the number of years. The last few questions mix the types without labelling them, because on the paper they are not labelled either.
- 1.A pair of trainers is priced at £80 online. The shop takes 25% off the price and then adds £10 for next-day delivery. Work out the total cost.
- 2.Work out 50% of 60.
- 3.A restaurant adds a service charge of 15% to a bill of £120. Work out the service charge.
- 4.A washing machine costs £320 before VAT. VAT is charged at 20%. Work out the total price including VAT.
- 5.Work out 8% of £250.
- 6.A company had 8000 employees. The number of employees decreased by 5% in the first year, and then increased by 5% in the second year. Work out the number of employees at the end of the second year, to the nearest whole number.
- 7.Work out 35% of 180.
- 8.A gym increases its membership price by 1/5. The original price is £60. Work out the new price.
- 9.The price of a share falls by 10% on Monday and then rises by 10% on Tuesday. Work out the overall percentage change from Monday's starting price.
- 10.A quiz has 50 questions. Freya answers 10% of them incorrectly. Work out how many questions she answers incorrectly.
- 11.A sponsored walk raised £350 for charity. 20% of the money raised is spent on equipment. Work out how much is spent on equipment.
- 12.A charity shop buys a coat for £24 and sells it for a profit that is 3/8 of the buying price. Work out the selling price.
- 13.The rent on a flat increases by 10% one year and by a further 10% the following year. Work out the overall percentage increase over the two years.
- 14.A cinema has 250 seats. 12% of the seats are reserved. Work out how many of the seats are reserved.
- 15.Leah puts £4000 into a savings account paying 3% compound interest each year. At the end of 2 years she takes out all of the money and spends £1500 of it on a laptop. Work out how much of the money she has left.
- 16.A concert hall has 300 seats. 20% of the seats are in the balcony. Work out how many of the seats are in the balcony.
- 17.The population of a village is 1200. It is predicted to grow by 5% next year. Work out the predicted population after 1 year, to the nearest whole number.
- 18.Work out 3/8 of 96.
- 19.40% of a number is 12 more than 25% of the same number. Work out the number.
- 20.A cycle route is 350 m long. A footpath runs alongside it for 3/7 of that length. Work out the length of the footpath.
- 21.A sofa costs £800. Its price is increased by 25%. Work out the new price of the sofa.
- 22.The price of a games console is reduced by 10%. In a later sale the reduced price is reduced by 10% again. Work out the overall percentage decrease.
What is on this worksheet?
The sheet holds 22 questions drawn from the MathsUK bank — the content areas covered: Ratio, proportion and rates of change, Number (statements R9, R16, N12). It is pitched at GCSE Foundation and takes about 40 minutes to work through in full. It is built for independent practice, with full answers at the end for self-marking.
How to use the sheet well
- Print it or open it on screen — both work. Printing is A4; the screen view fits phones and tablets.
- Do all 22 questions before checking — about 40 minutes is the guide, but there is no time pressure.
- Check the answers — press “Show answers” or print the answer page separately.
- Redo the questions you got wrong — twice as effective as doing 22 fresh ones.
- “New questions” — builds a fresh sheet on the same statements, so you can practise again without repeats.
Why this sheet helps
MathsUK worksheets use questions graded by difficulty and a fair spread of correct-answer positions (the answer is not always (a)) — so the student really has to think about each question rather than guess a pattern. Every question is tagged to a DfE content statement and checked before it enters the bank. The answers come with a step-by-step explanation, not just a value — so a wrong answer becomes a lesson.
Similar worksheets worth a look
- ✏️ Paper 1 non-calculator warm-up — Foundation · 20 questions · ~25 min
- 🎯 Grade 4 pass booster · 25 questions · ~40 min
- ⚖️ Foundation to Higher crossover check · 20 questions · ~35 min
- ⚗️ Ratio and proportion mastery — Higher · 24 questions · ~45 min